| CT1EHO |
Rating:  |
2000-10-04 | |
| Real data performer |
Time Owned: 3 to 6 months. |
This little radio is a great piece of electronics, bought mine about 3 mounth ago and since then is the master VHF/UHF FM equipment in my shack, the reception is fabulous probably due to the latest developments on the new rx device semiconductor, compared to my other ICOM IC2100H, the sensitivity issue gets the top place. Since I´m a regular user of data communications, imediatelly have connected this radio to my TNC the Kantronics KPC-9612, and the results were very good on 9K6 packet, the audio settings and levels wore straight forward, I beleave the only drawback for some people is to get a rj-12 connector easely in some locations, I have used a telephone cord I managed from my "junk box".
APRS, SSTV and ACARS were also a reality, the AM air band detector works very fine, and signals came out trough the mic connector to my sound card very eficiently, no need to connect the jack on the rear pannel, it seems that this audio tap is better for some programs, the level is constant independently of volume setting but it works well on almost every electronic sound interface or TNC, the only attention is that the squelsh doesn´t act on this output, its necessary to enable CD (Carrier Detect softwear ON) in the TNC unit.
Other nice aspects of this radio, are the ultra-small size and it´s easy of use, the mechanical reliability its total as usual for Yaesu equipment, having a whole internal frame on diecast alloy, a small mighty radio...
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| VA3TRN |
Rating: |
2000-09-27 | |
| Absloutely superb |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
When I went looking for a mobile I had a number of considerations in mind. First the radio had to fit in my 1998 Honda Civic Saloon, secondly although I am very big myself most big cars, vans and SUVs have neither enough leg room nor seat width so placing any radio near the console in any vehicle was difficult. Hint, the smaller the vehicle the more room. I also needed something that would kick out a good signal and act as a scanner for railway
and marine applications. By having the radio opened up all internally these things are possible and then some. The rig sits under the driver's seat, the conrol head hides up under the main upper console; held by
a form of removable industrial fastener maufactured by 3M. This radio is as good as my VX5 and nowhere as confusing to operate. The buttons on the mic head are easy to push for big fingers, the red backlight is great on the microphone.
Complaints? Very few. The control head readout can be difficult to read in certain ambient lighting situations, the extension cabling is expensive ($120+); although the radio lists at $599; all of the buttons on the mic should be backlight in red, not just the numerals and #,* keys. |
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| KG4DZB |
Rating: |
2000-09-27 | |
| good radio for a cramped vehicle |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
| Pros include: easy underdash install in a cramped vehicle like my Jeep Cherokee; mike has programmable keys; rx audio excellent with external speaker; excellent sensitivity; tx audio reports very good to excellent. Cons include: expensive and cheesy remote kit (forget flush mounting; forget velco - screw it in only; forget removing control head when you exit vehicle - it screws into bracket); ptt key is MUCH too sensitive (needs a stiffer spring); keypad in mike has recessed, small buttons making for difficult key entry while driving; mike cable too short. Due to relatively high operating temperatures on tx, this radio is best for an underdash install. |
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| VK3TST |
Rating: |
2000-09-18 | |
| Great radio, but... |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
| Well, in Australia, it has the wrong repeater shift for 147.000 (meant to be negative), speaker is hard to hear at times, extended receive has a few birdies in it, am rx is poor, and 70cm ARS does not match aussie repeaters, otherwise, I was able to hold a QSO for around 70km in extreemly hilly roads from the top of a hill, and 70cm rx seems to be better than 2m (although that might be my antenna). All in all, a great radio, and if you can put up with those things I have just mentioned, definitly buy it! |
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| N7RFG |
Rating: |
2000-09-16 | |
| Excellent |
Time Owned: 3 to 6 months. |
This summer (July 2000), my wife and I had an opportunity to travel across the US, using two FT-90r 2 meter/ 70 CM mobile radios built by Yaesu. We ordered the radios a week before our trip, and did not have time too thoroughly read the manuals, even though I did bring one of the manuals with us.
My wife planned to drive the Durango, while I was driving our BMW. The radios were connected to SG 7000 Diamond antennas, which are dual band quarter wave spikes. The first difficulty right out of the box, was the difficulty in hearing the radio transmissions, even at full volume. If I had known that the radios were this hard to hear in normal operating conditions, I would have purchased external speakers. My wife was continually asking me to repeat my transmission throughout our trip. In order to operate these radios without external speakers, it requires extremely quite cabin conditions, ( i.e. windows closed, sleeping kids etc.).
However, despite this shortcoming of the small internal speaker, my first impression was that we were operating very sophisticated radios. It took me about 1 hour to figure out how to customize the settings while driving down the road, without the manual. My wife had a little more difficulty than me, but she keep saying, "she didn't have a masters degree in computer science either." I hope that Yaesu does not consider this to be an operating requirement for most people! After a couple of truck stops, I was able to demonstrate the basic features of the radio, and she did not seem to have any problems after that switching band, setting PL's etc. When we stopped for our first night, I was able to read the manual and determine how to perform some of the more advanced features of the radio, such as: scanning, ARTS, CW id.
For the next few days of our trip, we were operating the radios using the ARTS (Auto Range Transponder System), and the Morse Identifier. These are some fantastic features. Every few minutes, the radios would ID sending messages back and forth. Not once in the trip did we every get out of range, even though I tried several times. At one point in the trip, we were separated by almost 5-6 miles, and we were still in range. According to the manual, other radios must have DCS, and be setup on your code in order to activate your radio. This is similar to the CTCSS decode feature on most radios, and is also available on these models as well. You have your choice of different operating environments.
The radios are configured using a setup menu. The menu is similar to the one used on the FT-847. You enter the menu by pressing the set button for 1 second. Then you can dial the selection that you would like to change. For example, the fan has a couple of setting: Auto/Tx, Tx, or Off. You use the arrow buttons on the front of the radio to determine your selection for that particular feature. There are too many features in these radios to list them all here, however, some of the more general features include: mic configuration, alpha numeric tags, power setting, memory scan, band scan, DTMF auto dial, CTCSS bell paging to name a few. The radios themselves are not capable of cross-band repeat, which is a feature I am not really interested in. Each band is separate and requires the operator to manually switch between each band. You can however, perform memory scans that include both bands, and the radio is capable of priority scan on either band which makes it nice when you want to monitor simplex frequencies.
One feature that I really like was "Smart Search Function". This enabled me to search any segment from 100 MHz to 999.975 MHz, which in turn would store those frequencies that were active into memory. Then you can advance through all stored channels. If it found an active channel that was part of the amateur band such as a repeater frequency, it did not store the PL tone. It was up to you to determine the value.
For two glorious weeks, my wife and I made several contacts along the US, Mexican boarder, mostly simplex. Because of the sensitivity of these radios, they are great for making simplex contacts, by listing experience, these radios are by far more sensitive that some of the other radios I own. I must say, that these radios are excellent travel companions and they are well made too! I am positive that Yaesu is pumping these radios out the back door! Yaesu did it again!
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| EI7FFB |
Rating: |
2000-08-22 | |
| Great Little Radio |
Time Owned: 6 to 12 months. |
| Bought one the day I got my Licence exam results,I get good reports on signal & audio all the time,even just on 5W.Easy to fit in the car due to the small size,my only minor gripe would be that you need an extenal speaker for best audio in the car,I used an old speaker from a Panasonic cellular kit and it's fine ! |
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| KD5JFT |
Rating: |
2000-08-13 | |
| Great Radio |
Time Owned: 6 to 12 months. |
| I had this radio installed in my truck (remote installation). The cable extension kit costs more than it should though. The radio is a very good first radio. Recieve on the ham and public safety bands blows away my Kenwood TM-D700A. I like the small size of the control head, you can mount it just about anywhere (keep it out of direct sun though so it can be read easier). Easy to program and operate. I never noticed any heat problems that other reviewers have mentioned. I recommend this as a first radio or as a back up radio. It's features are rather limited (why it only got a 4 rating). I took it out and put in the Kenwood for the additional features. This radio is now going to be part of an emergency response kit for disaster response. |
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| W9WY |
Rating: |
2000-08-06 | |
| Great Rig - RTS software is a must |
Time Owned: 6 to 12 months. |
| I use the rig in my wife's mini-van when we travel. The ability to create a repeater list with the ARRL CD-ROM and then import and program the radio with the RT Systems software (NOT the Yaesu software)is a plus. Alpha display of location of repeater is great when traveling. Not had a problem with heat, but mounted the radio where it gets lots of ventilation. Some folks try to stick in into a dashboard bin which limits circulation. |
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| VK2UZ |
Rating: |
2000-08-05 | |
| Great for small autos |
Time Owned: 3 to 6 months. |
| I've been running this small duo-bander for a few months now in my 4x4. The internal speaker lacks punch so any external speaker is a plus. Programmable function keys on the front panel and mic. come in handy. The LCD readout is best read if you're close to 90 deg. to the panel otherwise it's hard to read. AM reception (airband) audio is only adeqate but FM is fine. The worst thing I find with this radio is the scanning delay. There are only 2 choices, carrier or 5 second timeout. There is NO delay!!!! unlike the other VHF/UHF Yaesu's I own. Other than this annoying point the radio has worked fine and the software/ADS is easy to use. |
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| AA9HD |
Rating: |
2000-06-26 | |
| Nice radio. |
Time Owned: 3 to 6 months. |
I've had this rig for a few months now. I used the YSK90 separation kit and SP-7 speaker. I'm impressed with the fit and finsih of the radio. The head fits nicely in my Honda Accord, and the controls are well placed. Mic is comfortable as well.
Bad points? Well, i had to remote mount it anyway, even though it's so tiny, because of its heat generation and small speaker. So, I probably could have gotten away with a larger rig, although i like the fact that the faceplate is barely noticeable. That and the fact that it's a "One Band at A Time" rig make this a 4 instead of 5. |
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